“No.” The big guy grinned at him. “It will be packed tomorrow, so you picked a good night to show up.” The guy gave him a pretty intense inspection, up and down. “So did I.”
Oh, damn. Okay, so Nolan broke that down mentally. The guy was enormous. Pretty, with his shaggy brownish-blondish hair and dark eyes. He wasn’t giving off smarmy or dangerous vibes like Herschel, but he was clearlyinterested.
And Nolan was pretty sure he didn’t need that right now.
“I—” He cleared his throat. “I’m having a hard time, okay?”
Something wild flashed gold in those hot eyes for a moment, but then the guy held his hands up, sympathy filling his expression. “Sure. Of course. I’m Ryder. And if there’s anything I can do to help, just say the word.”
Tears stung his eyes suddenly at the kind tone. “Thank you. I—” He took a deep breath. “What’s good here?”
“Well, the drinks are always great, but food-wise, I love the fried cheese. If you want a real meal, the soup of the day is actually made on the premises, and it’s usually damn good.”
He tried for a small smile, because he’d expected this guy to recommend seared meat. “I like soup.”
“Today’s special is loaded baked potato soup. Cheese, green onions, bacon, the whole nine yards.” The bartender nodded to him, the smile warm and easy. “I highly recommend it.”
“I’ll take it, please. Thank you.” He would have just enough money to eat. He sat there and stared at his hands for a hot minute. They were beginning to shake, now that he had finally made it here, and he thought it was safe.
“How do you know Race?”
“He’s my brother.” Race was the eldest omega in the family, and his hero. No one tried to challenge Race. No one dared to ‘give’ Race to anyone.
Race was his own man.
The grizzly’s eyes went wide. “Your brother? Well, that’s cool.”
“He’s amazing. I know he’s very busy with his rescue operation, but he said I could come whenever I needed to, so…I’m here.”
And he was proud of himself for getting out. He wasn’t sure what else he’d been supposed to do. They weren’t like wolves; the hierarchy wasn’t so strict. But bears in the middle of nowhere could have strong positions on mating where joining territories were concerned, and everyone but him had been convinced it was the perfect match.
There was only one problem.
Herschel wasn’t his mate.
And there was no way Nolan was going to be stuck with the big, verbally abusive asshole for life. Herschel hadn’t hit him. Yet. But he’d felt as if it was not too far off, considering Herschel’s “respect” for body autonomy.
Which was non-existent. Christ.
“Hey.” The big bear hadn’t moved any closer, but somehow he seemed to fill the space. “What would you like to drink, huh? Wilder can get you pretty much anything.”
“Um. Ginger ale would be great.” He felt queasy now. That would settle him down, make it easier to eat.
“You got it.” The Wilder guy got him an icy-cold ginger ale.
He appreciated that no one fussed at him for not having a beer or a tequila or something. He just couldn’t. He didn’t want to be in a position where he wasn’t completely in command of his faculties.
Maybe once he got to Race’s house, sure. But not yet.
Not in a bar with strangers.
“Did you manage to get hold of Race?” he asked.
Wilder shook his head. “No, I think he’s out on a job, but don’t worry. We’ll find him. It just might take a few hours.”
The big guy snorted. “Or a couple of days, depending on what he’s up to.”
“Yeah, he’s sort of amazing, isn’t he?” Nolan had to smile at that. His brother rescued omegas from terrible situations. Like him.
